Chapter 19 Apprentice of the Future

　　The teenager nodded obediently. The elder smiled and continued: “But what reassures me is this—when I watched your moves just now, every strike had a calculated follow-up, and the transitions between them were perfectly timed. It’s clear you haven’t slacked off in your training on a daily basis, and your combat thinking hasn’t been constrained by rigid mindsets…

　　You just seem a bit dull and clumsy when going about ordinary things, but that’s not a bad thing. After all, ‘great wisdom often appears as foolishness’…

　　There will be things in the future that change your temperament. When that time comes, I hope you’ll remember what your master told you today—always prioritize human civilization! All right, let’s keep the disciple ceremony simple.” Wei Zhengdao instructed slowly. Whenever he mentioned a key point, Zheng Feng standing beside them nodded repeatedly in agreement…

　　Noticing Gu Moxun hadn’t reacted, Wei Zhengdao paused, then went on: “Actually, us Guides have no formal sect or school, and our numbers are few… The only reason I want to hold a small disciple ceremony is just a whim of this old man…

　　I’ve spent my whole life researching Star Core technology and martial arts from across the world, and now I don’t know how much time I have got. It’s high time I should find someone to pass on the fruits of my life’s work—so my legacy can continue, and so I can find a successor to take over my duty of guarding human civilization and preparing for the upcoming Day of Return!

　　I’ll tell you more about this later. For now, just offer me a cup of tea and call me ‘Master’—that’s all there is to the ceremony. We don’t need all those tedious and over-elaborate formalities!” After speaking, Wei Zhengdao looked at Gu Moxun—still covered in sweat, looking naive and confused—with a grinning expression.

　　He stared at the teenager for a long while, but Gu Moxun just stood there scratching his head, completely unaware that he should go pour a cup of tea. Wei Zhengdao felt a surge of frustration, his face darkening by the second…

　　“You fool! What’s the matter with you? Do you look down on me as such an old man? Don’t you want to be my disciple anymore?” Finally, Wei Zhengdao couldn’t hold back his anger and roared at the teenager.

　　Gu Moxun’s face flushed bright red. He waved his hands frantically and stammered: “N-no… n-no… that’s n-not it! I… I… I don’t… have that thought…”

　　“What?” You don’t have that thought?” Wei Zhengdao’s voice rose. “So, it was all just this old man’s wishful thinking? You don’t even have the intention to become my disciple!” When flustered, Gu Moxun would stammer, and his stammer made his words barely understandable. Wei Zhengdao, who hadn’t caught his meaning, stood up in anger!

　　In an instant, the air around them seemed to press down on the teenager, and the temperature felt as if it had dropped several degrees! Zheng Feng, who had been standing stiffly to the side, hurried forward to persuade: “Master Wei, he can’t possibly mean that! Please don’t lose your temper first!”

　　“Y-yes… M-master… p-please… don’t… misunderstand… I… I… don’t… not… want to… be your disciple… I… I… just… don’t know… what ‘tea’… looks like… I’ve… lived in… Mars Academy… since I was little… I don’t… know… how… exactly… to ‘offer tea’…” Gu Moxun’s face turned bright red as he hurried to explain, his speech still halting with nervousness.

　　“Heh… So that’s what it is! Ha… haha…!” Wei Zhengdao let out a hearty laugh. “It really was my mistake. Many of you from this generation have never even heard of tea, let alone seen it. Never mind, never mind—just take a cup, pour some water, kneel in front of me and hand it to me, then call me ‘Master’. That’s all we need; let’s keep everything simple!” As Wei Zhengdao looked at Gu Moxun’s honest, awkward manner, he broke into loud, joyful laughter. Once the elder’s mood lifted, the invisible pressure lingering around them seemed to fade away completely…

　　Once the elder’s mood lifted, the invisible pressure in the air seemed to vanish completely…

　　At his words, the teenager acted immediately. Barefoot, he rushed to pour a full cup of water, then carried it carefully and respectfully to Wei Zhengdao. Dropping to both knees with a thud, he bowed at a ninety-degree angle, held out the cup with both hands, and called out loudly: “M-mas… Master… p-please… have… some water!” When nervous, he still couldn’t control his stutter.

　　Wei Zhengdao glanced at him, not minding the stammer anymore. He smiled, took the cup from the teenager’s hands, and drank it all in one go. After finishing, he set the cup aside.

　　“All right, that’s the end of the disciple ceremony. Zheng Feng, you can go about your business first—I’m going to give this young fellow his first lesson.”

　　“Yes, Master. Then I’ll take my leave now.”

　　“Hmm!”

　　Zheng Feng looked visibly relieved. After taking his leave of Wei Zhengdao, he gave Gu Moxun a smile and strode away

　　Now, only the elder and the teenager remained in the room…

　　As soon as Zheng Feng left, Wei Zhengdao motioned for Gu Moxun to follow him. They walked one after the other into a side hall...

　　The side hall was neat and elegant—nothing like the clutter outside. Hanging prominently on the main wall was a huge Chinese character: “Xia” (meaning “chivalry” or “heroism”). The elder sat down on a futon beneath the character, then gestured for the teenager to sit on the futon in front of him. Gu Moxun nodded and hurried to sit down.

　　No sooner had he settled than the master suddenly stretched out his thin, withered hands, grabbed the teenager’s forearms, and yanked him forward. When caught off guard, Gu Moxun instinctively tried to resist—but found that in the elder’s frail-looking grip, he had not the slightest strength left to fight back!

　　As the teenager slid toward the elder’s arms, Wei Zhengdao pressed his hands repeatedly against the joints and acupoints on the boy’s arm

　　—his precision and speed were simply breathtaking!

　　One second, the teenager was sitting; the next, he was being guided by the elder, upside down and supported only by Wei Zhengdao’s hands! The elder lifted him slightly toward the sky, then flicked his fingers rapidly over the boy’s back, followed by another round of pressing and massaging. After that, he gave a gentle tug—twisting the teenager’s body upright to face him, returning him to his original seated position.

　　The elder used his fingertips to press several acupoints on the teenager’s chest, then brought his palm down on the Baihui acupoint at the top of Gu Moxun’s head. Though the palm strike seemed to carry the momentum of a crashing mountain, it landed as lightly as a feather!

　　The teenager felt a thick, comforting warm current flow from his Baihui acupoint, spreading to every part of his body. Wherever it reached the acupoints the elder had pressed and massaged earlier, a soft warmth would well up—leaving him feeling incredibly relaxed, as if his entire body was wrapped in a cozy glow.

　　After a few minutes, the elder withdrew his hand. He pulled a pendant from his bosom—a silver metal frame inlaid with a milky-white crystal. Before the boy could react, Wei Zhengdao snatched the crystal bracelet (a gift from Gu Moxun’s parents) from the teenager’s wrist, clipped the milky-white crystal pendant onto it, and tossed the bracelet back to Gu Moxun. The elder’s movements were too fast for the teenager to process. Still kneeling there in a daze, Gu Moxun let the elder handle the bracelet without resistance.

　　After finishing all this, Wei Zhengdao smiled and said, "You can get up now. From now on, I’ll call you Xiao Xun. I don’t have much to give you, but you can take this pendant first. I’ve attached it to the energy crystal bracelet your parents gave you—remember, don’t take it off for even a moment!"

　　"Yes! But... what... is an ‘energy... crystal’?" Taking the bracelet, the teenager looked at it in confusion and asked. When Gu Moxun’s parents had given him the bracelet, they hadn’t mentioned it was an energy crystal...

　　"Didn’t your parents tell you about it?" the elder asked in surprise. Seeing the teenager shake his head, Wei Zhengdao seemed to understand something. He nodded and continued, "It seems they were afraid you’d use it recklessly...

　　This kind of energy crystal can be twisted open in times of crisis. The potion inside lets you quickly heal wounds and restore stamina—it’s a type of restorative stimulant.

　　However, the manufacturing process for this potion is highly demanding, and the cost is not low. Taking too much of it also has certain side effects. That’s why it hasn’t been widely used in the Alliance. Your parents gave it to you, surely because they were afraid that you’d encounter danger during military operations! But they also worried that you, being so young, would grow too dependent on this potion... Truly, the hearts of parents everywhere are the same."

　　Wei Zhengdao figured out Gu Moxun’s parents’ intention right away—experience really does come with age...